Amazon overhauls grocery business in bid to grab bigger share of US market

Amazon has commenced an overhaul of its grocery business, with a goal of winning over a larger chunk of the USD 1.5 trillion (EUR 1.36 trillion) U.S. market.

Amazon, which operates 515 Whole Foods supermarkets, 45 Amazon Fresh stores, and 23 Amazon Go markets, wants to move from a niche grocer – it operates tech-savvy Amazon Fresh stores and acquired the high-end Whole Foods Market chain in 2017 – to the mainstream, according to Tony Hoggett, who was hired in 2021 as Amazon’s senior vice president of physical stores.

Amazon is planning to merge all of its online grocery offerings into one online portal, and will be revamping stores, investing in automated warehouses, and offering fresh food delivery to customers who aren’t Prime subscribers, Hoggett told Bloomberg.

 “We’re serious about grocery,” Hoggett said. “Our plan is on building this really strong grocery relationship with customers over time.”

Amazon is planning to merge its Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and Amazon.com online ordering systems and will stock more Whole Foods products in Amazon warehouses, with a rollout occurring through the end of 2023, according to Hoggett. That will allow customers who want to buy junk food from Amazon.com and healthy items from Whole Foods to obtain both in one transaction.

In order to make that work logistically, Amazon will be building new refrigerated sections within its warehouses and adding Whole Foods products at Amazon Fresh distribution hubs. It is also trialing a completely automated fulfillment center in Bethpage, New York, scheduled to open in late 2023 or ... 

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